A DINNER PARTYAfter finishing work, Sally rushed to the supermarket to buy the things she needed for the dinner party she was giving for three friends. The first disaster occurred on the train home. It was so crowded and there was such a crush that the tomatoes were squashed and the pot of cream burst open in the bag. As soon as she got home she took out the chicken, rubbed it with salt, put butter under its skin and then put the chicken in the oven. She started to slice the carrots and chop the onion but the knife slipped and she cut her finger. She ran cold water over it to stop the bleeding, then put on a plaster. She couldn't be bothered to peel the mushrooms so she cut them in half and threw them in the pan with the other vegetables. She started to wash the lettuce and was disgusted when two beetles crawled out. A strange smell seemed to be coining from the oven and she opened the door to have a look. The chicken looked all right — it wasn't burnt. Then she realized with horror that she had left some plastic wrapping under the chicken and it was melting. She swiftly removed it and hoped the smell would go away before the chicken finished cooking. She turned her attention to the salad again and salvaged as many squashed tomatoes as she could. On looking in the cupboard for the rice, she was appalled to find out she had run out. She threw on her coat and rushed to the corner shop to buy some more — at an exorbitant price. She got back just in time to prevent the vegetables from burning. She remembered that the strawberries were still in her bag and got them out. She was horrified to find, as she rinsed them, that the ones at the bottom of the box were mostly squashed and couldn't be used. When everything was more or less all right, she dashed upstairs to get herself ready. She was in the middle having a quick shower when her friends rang to apologize for telling her at such short notice that they could not come after all, but could they come at the same time neat week?
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